Commercial aircraft include a pressurised cabin whereof the internal pressure during flight is kept at a level higher than ambient pressure, that is to say the reduced atmospheric pressure at high altitudes, for example by an air conditioning system fed with air from the bleed air system. In general, the pressure inside the cabin of a commercial aircraft during flight, that is to say when the aircraft is at cruising altitude, conventionally corresponds approximately to ambient pressure at an altitude of 8000 feet (approximately 2400 m). Conventionally, an aircraft pressurised cabin includes a plurality of regions separated from one another by appropriate partition walls and/or intermediate floors, such as the cockpit, passenger cabin, crew rest compartments or freight compartments.
In order in the event of decompression, that is to say in the event of a drop in pressure in a region of the aircraft cabin that is kept at elevated pressure during flight, to avoid damage to the partition walls and/or intermediate floors that separate the region of the aircraft cabin that is affected by decompression from the regions of the aircraft cabin surrounding this region, it must be possible in the event of decompression to equalise the pressure between the region of the aircraft cabin that is affected by decompression and the regions of the aircraft cabin surrounding this region. For this reason, conventionally so-called decompression elements are provided in partition walls and/or intermediate floors serving to separate from one another different regions of an aircraft cabin which is kept at elevated pressure by comparison with ambient pressure.
These decompression elements are integrated in the partition walls and/or intermediate floors provided in the aircraft cabin such that, when there is a predetermined difference in pressure between the mutually adjoining regions of the aircraft cabin which are separated from one another by the partition walls and/or intermediate floors, they are released from their position and open a pressure equalisation opening. The pressure equalisation opening then makes it possible to equalise the pressure between the mutually adjoining regions of the aircraft cabin which are separated from one another by the partition walls and/or intermediate floors.
According to the prior art, such as DE 37 015 328 C1, devices for releasably securing a decompression element in a partition wall provided for use in an aircraft cabin are provided in which a holding element is constructed to break when a predetermined differential pressure acts on the decompression element. Once the holding element has broken, the decompression element is released from its position, as a result of the differential pressure acting on the decompression element, and opens a pressure equalisation opening in the partition wall.
By contrast, U.S. Pat. No. 5,871,178 and EP 1 186 531 A1 disclose devices for releasably securing a decompression element in a partition wall provided for use in an aircraft cabin, these devices each including holding elements which keep the decompression element in its position in the partition wall by means of a spring or clamping force. When a predetermined differential pressure acts on the decompression element, the pressure acting on the panel exceeds the spring or clamping force applied by the holding elements, with the result that the decompression element is released from its position in the partition wall and opens a pressure equalisation opening in the partition wall.
Finally, there is known from DE 10 2007 027 550 A1 a locking mechanism which is controlled by differential pressure and which has a housing in which a first and a second pressure chamber are arranged. The first and the second pressure chamber are separated from one another by a movable partition means. When the pressure in the first pressure chamber is equal to the pressure in the second pressure chamber, that is to say when there is no differential pressure acting on the partition means, the partition means is in a rest position. By contrast, when a predetermined differential pressure acts on the partition means, the partition means is movable out of its rest position into a differential pressure position. The locking mechanism furthermore includes an actuating element which is kept in a first position by the partition means when the partition means is in its rest position. By contrast, when the partition means is in a differential pressure position, the actuating element is movable into a second position.